Leeds United 3 Crewe Alexandra 0 - BBC 24/8/21
Three late goals helped Premier League Leeds United past League One Crewe Alexandra and into the third round of the Carabao Cup at a sold-out Elland Road.
The hosts, knocked out in round two in the past three
seasons, looked set to be frustrated until Kalvin Phillips flicked home a
near-post corner with just over 10 minutes of the game remaining.
Jack Harrison then scored twice, with a lovely dinked
finish, before slotting past the keeper in added time.
Marcelo Bielsa's side dominated the game - having 28 shots
in total - but lacked a clinical edge until the dying stages.
Leeds, who made six changes from Saturday's 2-2 draw against
Everton, started well with Tyler Roberts having an effort blocked, before Adam
Forshaw - making his first appearance since September 2019 because of a hip
injury - saw his effort saved.
Harrison, who joined the club on a permanent basis from
Manchester City this summer, saw an effort tipped behind, with Phillips sending
an unmarked header wide from the resulting corner.
Another summer signing, Junior Firpo, hit the outside of the
post with a volley as Leeds failed to find the breakthrough.
It eventually came when Phillips ghosted clear of his marker
from a corner, and despite not catching the ball cleanly, did enough to beat
William Jaaskelainen - son of former Bolton keeper Jussi - in the Crewe goal.
Harrison, who was perhaps the most guilty of lacking
precision in front of goal, sealed the win with a delightful dink over the
advancing Jaaskelainen, after good hold-up play by substitute Patrick Bamford,
before slotting home when left one-on-one.
Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa: "It took a long time
to score. We missed a lot of chances in a very contested game. Even though
[Crewe] created little, they disputed everything.
"Adam Forshaw is very well prepared. He's sacrificed a
lot in the last two months. If he keeps healthy and progressively acquires the
competition's rhythm he has all the virtues to shine."
Crewe Alexandra manager David Artell on BBC Radio Stoke:
"I thought the lads were terrific and they performed admirably. The fans
were magnificent too - they should be the first thing we talk about. You could
hear the 1,500 of them among the 37,000 here tonight.
"The first goal was always going to pop the cork, and if
there is one disappointment from tonight it is the manner that the goal came.
"Marcelo Bielsa came up to us at the end and said the
way we set up was magnificent."
